Code Red, Crazy for Education tackle edtech learning curve

More than half of chief academic officers believe online teaching is critical to their long-term strategy of educating students, according to a report by IBIS Capital that looked at the opportunity of e-learning in America.

Education technology is one of the hottest industries for small business, according to a report by Business Finance Store.

As school boards across the country continue to feel the pinch of shrinking budgets, adapting to the technical world is key, said Code Red Education founder Michael Palmer.

Code Red Education is a St. Louis startup that produces a computer science and entrepreneurial curriculum for first through 12th graders, to better educate students on real world skills such as computer programming

St. Louis is quietly forming a solid roster of tech startups focused on improving the quality of education both locally and beyond.

Palmer said most schools aren’t teaching the skills students need to get quality jobs upon completing their educational career, particularly when it comes to computer programming.

“Most districts are teaching computer keyboarding to students as many as three times,” he said. “Students already know how to type. They need to learn how to write programs and make websites.”

Palmer was one of a dozen tech folks who participated in roundtable discussion on getting more tech startups involved in the education space hosted by legislative tracking startup TrakBill last week.

Officials from St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay’s office and venture capital firms were also on hand to talk about how tech can play a larger role in education in St. Louis.

Palmer said it’s not as easy as just changing schools’ core curriculum, which can take years. Claiming small wins, he said, can add up over time.

“The long-term return potential is massive because it’s an unbelievably untapped area,” Palmer said. “But speaking short term, it’s going to take some time because it’s such a big market.”

AngelList, a platform that lists startups by industry, estimates more than 3,000 startup companies currently concentrated on education technology are looking for funding.

Each of those companies is looking to tap a market that is worth billions of dollars — $500 million in St. Louis alone, Palmer estimates.

Other companies, such as Crazy for Education are getting in on the action, too.

Crazy for Education, launched in 2012, is a flip teaching platform that’s free to use for teachers and students. Flip teaching blends learning methods for students learning online via video lectures and classroom learning.

The St. Louis startup has raised $250,000 since being founded and plans to sell its video library to students not affiliated with teachers using the program for just under $20 per month.

Ed Mass, chief operating officer for Crazy For Education, said the company is hoping to attract as many as a million students when its rolls out its video library for purchase. That would put annual income for the startup in the $19 million range.